Kouros Statue of Ancient Greece
Brief Identification Crafted between 530 - 520 BCE and approximately 1660 meters in height, the marble statue featured on the left is a Kouros (meaning "nude male youth"), a type of statue which dominated the Archaic period (600 - 480 BCE) of Ancient Greece. http://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Sculpture/ Serving as either burial markers or patrons of the gods, during the early Archaic period, Kouroi statues were noted for their rigid and lifeless appearance - distinct characteristics of Egyptian art - in that their faces were not only emotionless, but that their arms and legs were straight, the left leg stretched forward. However, over time the style of Kouroi statues began to "evolve" such that by the end of the Archaic period, they displayed a much more naturalistic appearance as emphasis had been placed on both the facial features and body proportions. http://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Sculpture/ As well, many were depicted with what historians describe to be a "thin, Archaic smile" 2003, 167. Currently, this Kouros statue, which was excavated from a site in Didyma, Turkey by German archaeologist Theodor Wiegand (1864 - 1936), is housed at the Altes Museum in Berlin. Technical Evaluation Hired to serve under the pharaoh Psammetichus I (664 - 610 BCE), the influx of Greek mercenaries to Egypt led to the formation of Greek settlements and by the mid-seventh century, a strong trading partnership had been established 1978, 18. Today, historians perceive this event as the catalyst for the Oriental style which had largely begun to define Greek sculpture 1973, 54. Initially, Greek sculpture had consisted of wooden, rudimentary statues (xoana), however, influenced by Egyptian sculpture, Greek sculpture thus began to assume a monumental identity 1973, 54 and 58. Due to its soft nature, early Greek sculptors utilized limestone as their medium, but given that it was susceptible to erosion, they turned to marble http://ancient-greece.org/art/korai.html which proved to be an ideal solution considering its abundance on the Aegean islands 1973, 57. Unlike the Egyptian sculptors who had only copper tools, Greek sculptors were well-equipped with iron tools - products of the Iron Age - and could therefore quarry and carve large pieces of marble easily by use of iron knives and chisels 1978, 19. In the early stages of sculpting, Greeks sculptors utilized the drill, a tool which not only permitted them to chip away pieces of marble incrementally, but to cut through and create channels as well 1978, 19. However, for delicate features such as the hair, Greek sculptors utilized the flat chisel 1978, 19 and in the later stages, a rasp would correct any imperfections (i.e. scratch marks) 1978, 80. For determining body proportions, while Egyptian sculptors had devised a standard mathematical grid system which involved transferring "preliminary sketches" onto "unworked blocks" of marble, by contrast, the varying proportions and lack of uniformity among the discovered kouroi statues suggests that Greek sculptors either had an underdeveloped version of the Egyptian grid system or that no such system existed altogether 1978, 20. However, in her academic journal Profiles of Kouroi, archaeologist Eleanor Guralnick, from her studies, argues that the kouroi statues, regardless of their varying proportions, are similar in that many demonstrate a "general line of evolution...toward an idealized human body" 1985, 399. As well, some of those evolutionary proportional changes included an "extremely slender waist" and "slender hips" the only anomaly being a slightly larger head 1985, 409. Local Historical Context Towards the end of the Dark Ages (1100 - 800 BCE) and throughout the Archaic period up until the late sixth century, Ancient Greece was a hub of economic growth and political reform 2003, 66. By increasing the production of farming tools, the Iron Age spawned an "agricultural revolution" which successfully catalyzed both trade and Greek colonization - the colonies themselves stretching from the Black Sea to the south of France 2003, 60 and 62. As well, territories which had been governed by feudal-like warlords - basileis - during the Dark Ages provided the foundation for the emergence of the city-state - polis - that would "dominate Greece for the remainder of the ancient period" 2003, 59. At the beginning of the Archaic period, the basilei - many of whom ruled as "minor kings" - gradually disappeared and power passed into the hands of "small, oligarchic groups" whose members were derived from the aristocracy - aristoi - meaning the "best people" or those with "land and wealth" 2003, 66. In her academic journal Herms, Kouroi and the Political Anatomy of Athens, historian Josephine Quinn argues that the early kouroi statues reflected an "elitist ideology" in that the aristocracy not only perceived them as items of luxury, but items which served as a sign of their membership within an "international elite" 2007, 97-99. However, as aristocracies grew in both wealth and power, their success attracted the scorn of the mercantile middle class, a group which had emerged as a direct result of the extensive trade networks and colonization 2003, 66. Ultimately, their frustrations stemmed from the oligarchies' incessant wealth extraction and the fact that they were barred altogether from the political sphere 2003, 66 and 70. World-Historical Significance Bibliography Boardman, John. Greek Art. New York: Praeger, 1973. Boardman, John. Greek Sculpture. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978. Cartwright, Mark. "Greek Sculpture." Ancient History Encyclopedia. NuSphere, 20. Jan. 2013. Web. 05 Apr. 2015. . Guralnick, Eleanor. "Profiles of Kouroi." American Journal of Archaeology ''89, no. 3 (1985): 399 - 409. Hurwit, Jeffrey M. ''The Art and Culture of Early Greece, 1100-480 BC. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1985. Konstam, Angus. Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece. New York: Checkmark, 2003. "Kore / Korai." Korai. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2015. . Quinn, Josephine Crawley. "Herms, Kouroi and the Political Anatomy of Athens." Greece and Rome 54, no. 1 (2007): 82 - 107.